This page may not work correctly in your current browser, Internet Explorer. We recommend changing to a more modern browser before viewing this page. We recommend Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.
East Hawai'i Island Membership Potluck-Meeting
01/20/2018 10:00 AM - 02:00 PM HT
Category
Potluck Mtg.
Admission
Free
Location
Paauilo Ag Lots
Mile Marker 36-37
Big Island, HI
United States of America
The East Hawaii Chapter’s September Membership Meeting was a blast! More than 35 folks showed up to participate in the festivities. We started by introducing the Korean Natural Farming Deep Litter System for raising pigs and then got busy planting out banana keiki. This was followed by a demonstration on using KNF techniques to convert banana trunks into silage for a local, sustainable source of pig feed! At noon, we had a delicious potluck, featuring an excellent pig-feet soup, before hearing from Deborah Hersey of the Swine Producers Co-op and Mike Duponte of UH-CTAHR on the progress of the swine industry in Hawaii. The Korean Natural Farming deep litter pig pen system introduced to Hawaii by Master Han-Kyu Cho of Cho Global Natural Farming is a simple no-smell, no-flies, no-cleaning system that employs indigenous microorganisms to digest the waste in situ before foul-smelling pathogens get a chance to proliferate. The litter is 4 feet deep, with the bottom 2 feet filled with large logs topped with wood chips and dirt, and finally inoculated with beneficial microbes before the pigs are introduced to the pen. Once setup, the pen does not have to be cleaned for ten years. Pigs eat a lot of food, so localizing the feed source is a large priority for farmers to reduce costs. Because banana is largely cellulose and not of much nutritional value, the stalks are cut and inoculated with lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to ensile the material and turn it into rich feed.
As part of our effort to collaborate and connect with other local organizations, we had Deborah Hursey of the Swine Co-op share her inspiring story and information about the new organization that is looking to make it easier for producers to work together to fill the hungry market. Mike Duponte of UH-CTAHR also stoked the fires of inspiration, outlining the huge demand for sustainably-raised, Big Island pork. They reported that dozens of these no-smell piggeries have been installed in the state and big things are growing.
It feels good to get together with others and spend our time productively on the farm. We all have so much to offer each other, and I look forward to seeing you at our next quarterly gathering in January at Yuri’s Food Forest Farm.
Aloha Nui,
Drake
HFUU East Hawaiʻi Chapter President
Follow us on facebook and instagram!
Tag @hfuuofficial on your ag-related instagram posts!
We would love to share your farm pics,
event flyers, harvests, local meals and more!
